The greatest accomplishment of the contemporary capitalistic ruling class has been its ability to manufacture an almost mystical demarcation between reality, and the perception of it. In many ways, this is not something new, as it has been the main strategy used by ruling classes throughout history. And, as in previous generations, our society is falling victim to this type of manipulation, once again.
Think of it as two trains traveling on parallel tracks. One train is called "Reality," and the other is called "Illusion." The ruling class is on board the "Reality" train -- on a high-speed track, to boot -- and the rest of society is on board the "Illusion" train.
In reality, there is a systematic approach to enslaving the population. It is systematic, but it is also organic, in that the process by which this enslavement is taking place is the result of a multitude of actions and events, all of which emanate from a powerful philosophy rooted in the understanding that societies were meant to be ruled by small elites whose power rested upon their ability to have an almost absolute cognitive control over the rest of the population.
Once this small elite establishes that cognitive, or mind control, over the population, they feel it is their birth-right to be able to exploit and enslave its members.
And so it is, in the United States of America (and now spreading through much of Western Europe), that there is a deluge of ever-accelerating trends and events that, in the final analysis, are stripping away all kinds of rights at a faster and faster pace.
It is a systematic tearing-down of the economic and social structure necessary to sustain a healthy (and widespread) middle class.
The current budget crises sweeping much of the United States (and Europe), and which are being used as an excuse to force an increasingly brutal regime of "austerity measures" on the population, are an illusion, or a subterfuge to create a narrative used to divide, confuse, and ultimately control and manipulate the population.
Employers asking people to hand over their Facebook username and password as a condition of employment, employment discrimination against people who have been unemployed "too long," reliance on credit reports, arrest records (not actual convictions), and a plethora of other data that's being collected on individuals by an increasingly all-seeing, relational-database-enabled eye, or corporate surveillance state, are the equivalent of a modern shackles, used to dominate, to control, and to engender obedience to the system.
Those good slaves who conform, who jump over every hoop put in front of them to prove they are worth it to the system, and who are willing to run at whatever speed their masters spin the hamster wheel, become the most productive slaves, and hence get to enjoy a few more benefits than the weaker slaves.
Those who fall off the wheel due to inherent weakness, old age, sickness, or misfortune, are quickly marginalized, and ghettoized, serving as a reminder of the misfortune that befalls those who are not able to keep up. Social Darwinism in its purest form...
It is within this context that the current emaciated, castrated (as it were), ineffective, confused, and fractured Left-wing exists, with the atrophy being much more acute in the United States, but with much of Western Europe rapidly catching on.
At some level it is understandable. The acquisition of most of the mass-media outlets by powerful corporatist-fascist conglomerates, and the wholesale corruption of the entire political class, have proven too powerful a challenge for the rise and sustenance of any meaningful or effective Left-wing movement.
The cowardice and betrayal by many intellectuals on the Left, who, knowing the truth, choose not to stand up against the system in any meaningful way, is also understandable--to a great extent. Since doing so usually means marginalization, and eventual ruin (career-wise, financially, socially).
And what is that truth, some may ask? Well, it is almost too obvious, if not simple... First, it's not a matter of decrying the downside of capitalism. It's more straightforward than that: The ruling elite has devised a system by which they have been able to take over all the levers of power in order to satiate their rapacious and unquenchable appetite, at the expense of society, and regular folks--same as every other generation.
The mechanics are not too complicated either... Use money and power as influence-peddling tools to corrupt the entire political system. Once the system is corrupted, move on to dismantle all the middle-class-enabling infrastructure, starting with the public education system, in order to spread ignorance (which, again, is the most powerful tool in the arsenal of the exploitative ruling elite), and then systematically loot the country's treasury.
And thus, this is the current state of affairs in the United States of America today, Saturday, March 24th, 2012.
The "Reality" train, which cargo includes massive brainwashing, religious fundamentalism, ignorance, and fascism, is moving right along its track, unmolested.
While the rest of us are haplessly being transported on the "Illusion" train, being led to believe that we matter, that our "activism" and political involvement will make a substantial difference in the outcome. It will not. Not a substantial difference. Perhaps a very marginal difference, only.
Is this a call to disengage from the political system? Not at all. To the contrary, this is a call to become even more engaged in it... To the point where the almost impenetrable core of corruption can be breached, so the entire system can be changed in fundamental ways.
What should a decent society look like? Well, that's easy, also... The goal should be an almost 100% of workers' unionization, healthcare under a single-payer system, as a right, free education all the way to graduate school, total and complete (constitutionally mandated) separation between Corporation/Business and State (following the model of separation between Church and State), a strong progressive tax system that ensures the proper funding of government services, stopping the government-business revolving door of corruption, total, 100% individual privacy rights, so nothing the individual does (as long as it does not involve breaking the law) can be used against workers.
I don't see the need to continue, since we all know what a decent society should look like, and we all know we ain't got one now.
Yes, engage, but get on the "Reality" track... We're not there now.